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Wild Game Day number 68
Wild Record (31-26-10 72 pts)
Home Record (17-12-4)
Opponent: Edmonton Oilers (26-36-7 83 pts)
Road Record (10-21-5)
Site: Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN
Time: 7:00PM CT
TV: Fox Sports North (FSN)
Last Season Results:
1/27 Wild 2 @ Oilers 1
2/20 Wild 4 @ Oilers 0
2/24 Oilers 2 @ Wild 1
Last result:
10/27 Oilers 3 @ Wild 4
2/18 Wild 5 @ Oilers 2
The Wild once again find themselves on the outside of the playoff picture looking in after Colorado won it's last two. St. Paul has not been a friendly place for the Wild since the calendar flipped from 2015 to 2016, as they have gone 2-9-1 at the Xcel in 2016. If the playoffs are in the Wild future that has to change. Eight of the Wild's remaining fifteen games are at home, with five of those against non-playoff teams beginning with tonight's opponent, the Edmonton Oilers.
The Wild have taken both previous match-ups with the Oilers including a 5-2 thumping in Edmonton during coach John Torchetti's first week four game winning streak. The Oilers have been a lot better of late winning four of their last six, and three of their last four on the road. Edmonton's overall team defense has been better over that stretch yielding just 12 goals in those six contests, with 6 of those goals against coming in one game, a 6-3 loss at Columbus at the end of a four game road trip.
Tonight the Wild need to apply the pressure early and get the Minnesota faithful engaged in the game from the start. The Xcel can be a tough place for opponents to play when the crowd is behind the team. It can also become eerily silent when the Wild play lacks intensity and the urgency necessary for this team to compete.
Devan Dubnyk is out tonight due to an illness so Darcy Kuemper will get the start in the Wild net. Even if Dubnyk were healthy Kuemper deserved the start tonight following his strong effort in relief of Dubnyk on Sunday night versus the Blues. Kuemper stopped all 18 Blues shots he faced, giving the Wild the opportunity to fight their way back into the game.
Every game is a playoff game for the Wild and they need to raise their level of urgency. Colorado appears to have righted themselves with two straight victories including a very impressive 3-0 shutout win over arguably the hottest team in the league, the Ducks, last night in Denver. The remaining Wild schedule is very favorable as they play almost every other day and have just one remaining back to back which comes at the end of the month where they host Ottawa on the 31st, then travel to Detroit on April 1st.
With fifteen games left in the Wild schedule there is a lot more than the playoffs at stake. There are a lot of questions that will also be answered along the way. First of course being the future of interim coach John Torchetti. Torchetti has turned things around for the Wild as they have an 8-4 record since he took over for Mike Yeo in mid February. The record is a bit deceiving though as half of those twelve games have come against non-playoff opponents. Roster changes are definitely in store for the Wild this summer, and the next fifteen games are a showcase for the Wild players to make their own statements as to where they fit into the long term plans of the Minnesota Wild beyond the 2015-16 season.
Let's Play Hockey!
Minnesota Wild Blogger • 
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